In Honor or Two Influential Christians and Theologians of Deep Faith

2 Timothy 4:6-7

⁶As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

The 2011-2012 academic year at Duke Divinity School is bittersweet.  After many years of service to academic theology, service to the Church on both the worldwide levels and the local church levels, and service to countless individuals, 2 men of great faith are retiring after lives of service – Dr. Geoffrey Wainwright and Dr. Stanley Hauerwas.

Somehow the planets aligned, God’s providence shined forth, and I and my class of Divinity Students had the opportunity to be in the final classes taught by these two remarkable Christians.

While I cannot characterize their lifetimes of service in a blog post, I will do my best to portray these men as Christians who have made a difference for the faith of many whether they have encountered these theologians directly or through their writings or through their teachings passed through former students.

Dr. Wainwright has spent his entire adult career in service to the Church.  He has been a pastor in England, a missionary in Africa, professor at several universities and seminaries, an important voice in the World Council of Churches on the healing of division among the various denominations, and in his youth, he was a cricket player (but, by his own admission, he had to settle for watching baseball after coming to the USA). 

Dr. Wainwright is a gentle man but yet full of passion for Christianity.  One day, my class hosted an “English Tea and Scone Breakfast” in his honor.  As a “stereotypical” British person, we thought he would burst with excitement as he uttered in a barely audible voice, “Thank you for the affection.” 

Sitting in his class was nothing short of amazing.  It isn’t often that a person can drop in casual conversation, “So, I was talking to the Pope, and I advised him to…”.  Even if you are not Catholic or do not believe in Papal Authority, the very fact that this man has personally known at least the past 2 Popes speaks of the respect the Christian Community holds for him as a reconciler.  And, he spoke with such humility that would make one think that everyone calls the Pope on a regular basis.

Most of all, I will remember Dr. Wainwright’s final lecture in our Theology Class.  In his British way, he “let loose.”  I remember hoping that after watching too many episodes of the Newlywed Game, the term “whoopee” would have a different meaning.  One of his last statements, ripe with British ambiguity was that after the Final Judgment after Christ redeems the world, there will be a lot of “whoopee in Heaven!” (And yes, he said it as if he were a cowboy).  I hope to God he was speaking of celebration...yes, celebration!

PARENTAL ADVISORY IS ADVISED FOR THE FOLLOWING TRIBUTE FOR STRONG LANGUAGE – Yeah, that’s not usually something that you put in tribute to a Theologian, much less a committed Christian, but hopefully it will make sense.

Dr. Stanley Hauerwas was named “America’s Best Theologian” on September 10, 2001…Unfortunately for America and for him, the next day, his accomplishment was overshadowed.  Dr. Hauerwas made a career of being a “Christian Contrarian.”  He never “fit the mold” of what others expected of him.  And to his credit, he never tried.

Dr. Hauerwas is a Christian Theologian/Ethicist who has taught at several universities including Notre Dame and Duke.  While never a “polished speaker,” his writing is impeccable.  He has authored countless books and articles. 

Sitting in Dr. Hauerwas’ class is an interesting experience.  But first, one needs to know his background.  He was raised by working class parents, and was trained as a bricklayer early in life.  It’s well known that in the construction industry, the “King’s English” is not exactly used.  In fact, in our first class, I counted him using the word “shit” or some variation of it 11 times.  And also in that class, we learned that the only "moral absolute' is that you should never shove a garden hose up someone's rectum and turn it on (Who would have known???  I'm eternally grateful for that word of wisdom!!!) But, for some reason, hearing those words from him is not the same as hearing them from others.  He is a real person who is a real committed Christian.

I did not always agree with his positions or his approach, but I always respected how he got there.  His intelligence is beyond question as is his faith.  Each class demanded that we, the Church, reclaim our identity and be an alternative to the world.  We should be so attractive that the world sees in us what it is missing – that being Jesus…because after all, “this shit is true” (in his words).

In person, Dr. Hauerwas is one of the most gentle and kind people one could ever meet.  I’ve talked to him on a personal level a couple of times, and each time, the focus was on me.  He never wanted to focus on himself.  When I complimented him on a book he wrote that made a difference to me, he wanted to talk about baseball...that is until he found I was guilty of the unforgivable sin - being a NY Yankee's fan.

In his last lecture to our class, this non-ordained man cried as he thanked us for allowing him the opportunity to teach us.  He admitted that he had a big personality and hoped that it never overshadowed the main goal of the class – Jesus.  He then summed up the class and what we learned and concluded with a sermon.

While some disagree with his pacifism or his approach to ethics – he uses the liturgy (as an extension of the Bible) and what we do at church to shape how we act in the world rather than if X happens, do Y – none can disagree that he is sincere.  He is flamboyant and sometimes seems overbearing, but when that is brought to his attention, he would be the first to admit his flaws and apologize for failing to respect another person. 

In summary – Both of these men have been a great witness to the power of God in the world today.  Despite their retirements, I find it hard to believe they will ever truly retire.  They may “take it easy,” but their service to God and God’s people will never end, and it will always live on in those who have learned from them!

Why Do We Kill Beautiful Things? -Maundy Thursday Sermon

“Why Do We Kill Beautiful Things?”

Based on John 13:1-17, 31-35

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. ²The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper ³Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, ⁴got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. ⁵Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. ⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” ⁷Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” ⁸Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” ⁹Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” ¹⁰Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” ¹¹For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.” ¹²After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. ¹⁴So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. ¹⁶Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. ¹⁷If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

³¹When he (Judas) had gone out (to betray Jesus), Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. ³²If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. ³³Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ ³⁴I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

     Jesus said, “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”  There are no “what if’s,” and there is no “us and them.”  Yes, it does emphasize love between Christ’s disciples – how can we love the world if we can’t first love each other? But it also means that if we love each other, we will take that love and share it with the world no matter who is in the world or what part of the world we are in.  And if we truly possess this love, there are some serious implications for us.  There are some serious implications that will make us uncomfortable.  But before we dive into this commandment, I want to see where we stand right now…Not just us in this room, but rather, how well do people love one another just as Christ loved us?

         I’m going to start with a knock-out punch, then whoever is left can try to keep reading.  Last week, (and this is a true store – no jokes here), someone dumped an injured domestic bunny in our yard.  You’ll find that if you’re a preacher in the country, a lot of things get dumped in your yard – puppies, kittens, beer bottles, and even one day I had a cow roaming through the yard – I don’t know if the person who dumped the bunny thought I was a faith healer or just wanted to get rid of it, but nonetheless, it was in my yard, and when my wife saw it a 7am, it was ugly and in a bad condition.  She called to tell me about it, and we both figured that it would just hop off into the woods and go to Bunny Heaven.  Well, when I got home  about 7 hours later only to find the bunny in the same place and in worse shape than she had earlier described to me.  So, I called her, now asking for the phone number to Bunny Hospice.  This poor bunny hadn’t moved, and was not going to, and there was nothing I could do about it.  I’ll spare you the rest of the details, but it even gets quite comedic as phones start ringing, and the members of the church get into action action mode all because someone decided not to show a little love to a bunny and dumped it in the preacher's yard (and to be fair, they also didn't want my kids to come home and have to see the bunny in that state either).

         I’m glad I can't see through the computer to see how many dry eyes I still have and how many counseling sessions I’m going to have to hold when you're done reading.  But, let’s put that into perspective – It was a rabbit…not a human.

         In February, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was walking through a neighborhood armed with a bag of skittles and a bottle of iced tea.  He was talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone when a series of unknown events took place.  Something led to Trayvon being shot dead by the Neighborhood Watch captain.  We know Trayvon was unarmed.  We do know that the Neighborhood Watch captain called 911, followed Trayvon despite being told not to do so, uttered a profanity and a racial slur over the phone, and eventually shot and killed Trayvon.  What we don’t know is what led up to the killing.  Maybe Trayvon started a fight and the Neighborhood Watch captain shot in self-defense.  Maybe he didn’t start a fight, and it was an unjustified shooting.  Either way, a teenager is dead, a man has to live the rest of his life knowing he killed another human, parents have to live their lives without their son. No one wins.  I wasn’t there…I can’t pass judgment…But it doesn’t look like love was shown.

         Right now, in the Supreme Court, and in the Political Arena, and in homes across the country, the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” or “Obamacare” as some call it, is being debated.  Whether you agree with it or not is neither here nor there, because I honestly believe Christians on both sides of the argument have their hearts in the right place and want the right and Godly thing to be done.  But, there are professing Christians, and I call them Christians because they say they believe in Christ, and because no one can see what’s in their minds and hearts except for God alone, who do not show love for others on this issue.  At a Tea-Party Debate last September, Candidate Ron Paul was asked what should happen if an otherwise healthy non-insured person suddenly goes into a tragic coma.  Ron Paul never really got to answer the question.  He was interrupted by a sizable number of audience members who cheered when the commentator asked if they should just let the person die.  Cheering to let someone die?  Is that showing the love of Christ?

         Before I go on, I want to be clear that this is not meant to endorse a political ideology, this is a sermon on loving one another as Christ loved us.  I cannot judge the shooter in the Trayvon Martin case because I don’t have all of the facts, but I can say that when deadly force is used and assumptions are made based on race, you’re not starting out on the right foot.  Whether or not all should have health care may be a political issue, but to say that we should let people die because they don’t have it is a denial of Christian love and charity.

         At the beginning, I said that if we take this command from Christ seriously, there are serious implications, and now I want to look at them.  I want us to look at exactly what it will look like and feel like for us to love one another as Christ loved us.

1.                     The most major difference, in fact the ONLY difference, is that we will stop killing beautiful things. (Now wait, you're thinking…you can’t be serious…I don’t kill…Ok, maybe I hunt…etc.)

T          There are some things to think about in reference to Killing Beautiful Things.

a.    Killing is more than taking a life.  Killing is being silent in the face of injustice.  Those who are victims are beautiful, and we MUST stop being silent in the face of injustice. (When people are cheated by the powers of the world, we MUST be a voice for those who have no voice, we will hold people accountable and not stop until “Justice and righteous roll like and ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24)(yes, that's a paraphrase, not a direct quote).

b.   Killing is withholding compassion and mercy.  Those who are sinners are still beautiful, and we MUST show Compassion and Mercy (We need to understand that underneath every action, and even sinful actions are underlying reasons – we don’t have to excuse those reasons or overlook those reasons, but we should look upon those people with mercy.  We need to treat the sinners as Jesus treated the Tax Collectors, the prostitutes, the demon possessed, the thief on the cross – with mercy and compassion)

c.    Killing is greed in the face of need.  Those who are needy are beautiful, and we MUST be generous with our charity. (If we believe what we say we believe, then we can afford to be generous because just as God provides through us, we need to let go of our sinful pride and know that if we are in need, God will provide for us, and it may be through someone else)

d.   Hate is the ultimate form of killing – both literally and figuratively.  All humans are beautiful because we are created in the likeness and image of God, and we MUST show love to all people. (Yes, this means ALL people.  Even the ones that annoy us.  Even the ones who worship a different God.  Even the ones who practice a different lifestyle.  Even the ones who hate us.  Even the ones who don’t look like us.  Even the ones who don’t share our values.  Even the ones who don’t talk like us.  Even the ones who hate our God.  It is not our job to judge. It is not our job to defend God - God is big enough to do that by himself.  It is not our job to build a church.  It is only our job to sow seeds and nurture them, and we can ONLY do that through love.  Not fake and conditional love, but rather Godly unconditional love.  The same kind of love that Jesus showed when he died for sinners like you and me on the cross on the day that the last beautiful thing had to die.